Stolen Valor Tarnishes Service Members' Sacrifices

By David Vergun

Army News Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2013 - Soldiers in every war have risked their lives to
defend America. In many cases, their valor has been above and beyond the call of
duty. For their service, they receive Purple Heart Medals for wounds, and for
valor they might earn Bronze Star Medals, Silver Star Medals or others.

It may seem hard to fathom, but there are many who claim to have earned
medals to which they are not entitled. Others say they've served in combat but
never have.

Donald Mason knows this first-hand because he's called these individuals out
and exposed their fraud to the public.

Mason served from 2009-2010 as the national commander of the Legion of Valor.
The organization was chartered by an Act of Congress in 1955. Today he serves as
the commander of the legion's San Antonio chapter. All 627 members have received
the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross or the Air Force
Cross.

The mission of the Legion of Valor includes extending relief to needy
members, their widows and children, promoting patriotism and pride in serving,
and cherishing the memories of valiant deeds by those who served. Members also
protect the valor of service members by exposing people who steal the valor of
others.

About five years ago, Mason recalls getting a call from the Texas Department
of Transportation, which had also contacted Dick Agnew, commander of the
Dallas/Fort Worth Legion of Valor chapter. Department personnel suspected that
some motorists were fraudulently claiming to be entitled to put Legion of Valor
license plates on their vehicles.

Mason and Agnew found that of 67 Legion of Valor plates issued in Texas, 10
were fraudulent. The men then tracked down those 10. Surprisingly, all had
actually served in the military, Mason said. Furthermore, most had been
officers. However, none of them rated any of the four medals that would make one
eligible for membership in the Legion of Valor or to have the license plate.

One of the perpetrators was from Mason's hometown of San Antonio. He was a
retired Army lieutenant colonel. Not only did he have a fraudulent plate, he
also wore his dress uniform to church and among the medals he wore but did not
earn was a Distinguished Service Cross. Another was a combat infantry badge for
service in Korea.

When questioned about his combat badge, he replied that it was earned in
1956. The Korean War ended in 1953.

This cut close to home for Mason, who had served with the Marines in Korea as
a corpsman. In October 1952, he earned the Navy Cross during fighting near
Panmunjom.

Mason has dealt with other cases. He's currently looking into the case of a
fraudulent Purple Heart Medal.

It's fairly easy to steal valor, he said. Medals and ribbons can be purchased
on the Internet, and blank DD-214 discharge forms can be found online. Awards
can then be typed in as well as other service-related data. It doesn't help
matters that many service records were lost in a fire at the National Personnel
Records Center in St. Louis, in 1973, he added, meaning people can claim their
records were destroyed.

The Supreme Court also made it more difficult to prosecute cases of fraud, he
said, when in 2012 in U.S. v. Alvarez, it found the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 to
violate the First Amendment's free speech clause. The act had made it a federal
misdemeanor to falsely represent oneself as having received any U.S. military
decoration.

Subsequently, Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act of 2012, which makes it a
crime if the stolen valor results in profit.

There are still steps people can take to find out and report stolen valor.
The Defense Department, for example, has a list of service members who've earned
some of the highest awards for valor.

Mason said he and other Legion of Valor chapter members would be glad to help
if someone needs assistance in reporting stolen valor cases.

The first step Mason takes is to talk to the person. If that doesn't work
then he would bring it to the attention of the public through the media. Mason
said newspapers have reported cases of stolen valor. Also, the fraudulent claims
should be brought to the attention of the U.S. Attorney's Office, if the case
involves stolen valor for profit.